The pharmaceutical industry is ferociously opposing recommendations made by the government’s intellectual property agency to abolish extensions on pharmaceutical patents, saying they will hurt Australia’s international reputation.

A draft review into the pharma­ceutical patent system by IP Australia, commissioned by the government in October, recommends that a patent extension, normally granted to drugs that have had to wait five years for regulatory approval, be removed to bring Australia’s patent lengths in line with major trading partners.

Medicines Australia chief executive
Brendan Shaw
said Australia needed to have the extensions because its regulatory approvals process was slower than other countries.

“The government would have to think very carefully before implementing these recommendations, because it risks setting Australia back with deve­loping countries in terms of industry development," he said.

“Australia would be seen as anti-IP."

The chief executive of the Con­sumers Health Forum, Carol Bennett, welcomed the recommendations in the hope they will make cheaper generic medicines available earlier.

Federal Minister for Industry and Innovation
Greg Combet
said the government did not have complete control over the patent system.

“The pharmaceutical patent system exists in a context where Australia is a party to international agreements," he said. “The Australian-US Free Trade Agreement was negotiated by the Howard government and came into force on January 1, 2005.